Public Appointments > Research and Reports > Annual Reports > Annual Report 2022/23

Public Appointments Annual Report 2022/23

18 December 2023

The Ethical Standards Commissioner’s standalone Public Appointments Annual Report provides an overview of our work during the 2022/23 financial year, and highlights:

• How we performed against our business plan and how the Scottish Government performed against the targets set in Diversity Delivers, the Commissioner’s public appointments strategy since 2008;
• How we monitored and provided guidance on the public appointments process in Scotland; and,
• How the regulated public appointments landscape has continued to change throughout 2022-23.

In 2022/23, we...

This is also the year we launched the 2022 Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments. The following trends were observed over the year:

• There has been a significant increase in the number of queries seeking advice on the Code – the bulk of which relates to the role of PAAs, panel membership, and how to encourage applications to public appointment opportunities.
• Despite there being fewer active appointment rounds and fewer appointments made this year, there has been a continued increase in the number of applications received for public appointment opportunities compared to 2020/21 and 2021/22.

Reflecting on the progress made in the year, Ian Bruce, the Ethical Standards Commissioner, said the following about our programme of work for the year ahead:

As we look to review and update our Strategic objectives in 2024, we will consider the way in which our regulatory role will have most impact in influencing ministerial action to secure boards which are effective and reflective of society and we will seek to work alongside Scottish Government officials to understand and promulgate the good practice which they are taking and which already appears to be securing positive outcomes.

• Read the full report